A Year from Today
by rbs89
Summary: There had been no promise to call, to email, to stay in touch. Just a promise to meet at the reflecting pool in the mall near the coffee cart. Who were these people who were meeting today? Part 3: The Beginning of the Rest of their Lives.
1. A Year from Today

I don't own Bones.

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**A Year From Today**

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There had been no promise to call, to email, to stay in touch.

Just a promise to meet at the reflecting pool in the mall near the coffee cart.

Who were these people who were meeting today?

What had they discovered in the past year?

What had changed?

What hadn't?

...

She had spent her time with a younger version of herself.

Not that she had been incapable of controlling her excitement.

No, it was the part of her that was singularly driven by her career.

Or had been, at least, until Special Agent Seeley Booth with the FBI had entered her life.

Was it really possible for her to gain an objective perspective of her life here?

This question had pervaded her conscious and, more frustratingly, her unconscious thoughts.

And other thoughts, questions, worries tended from there.

_What is Booth doing? Should I initiate contact with him? What if he was injured? Would they let me know? But he's only training soldiers in techniques for tracking and apprehending insurgents. Not in the front line. Not as a sniper. Not as a hero. _

She thought back to that conversation with Angela. About being worried about Booth getting injured and her not being able to prevent it.

Only now it was worse. If she was inclined to use hyperboles, she would say that it was a million times worse. Thinking about Booth being injured in Afghanistan without her was worse than the dreams about the Gravedigger. The shortness of breath, the clenching pain in the chest, the need to fall to the ground and cry out to a God she didn't believe in.

At the beginning of the year long dig, she had been excited, about what her findings could mean. How it could answer questions about early humanity.

Six, seven years ago, her life had been consumed by this quest to learn more, to know what had led to the humanity she knew and was surrounded by.

But the sidetrack into murders had separated her from hard science, from what could be proved empirically, the how.

She had been introduced to motive, the psychology, the why. She no longer looked at humanity as a whole, but a particular segment: the desperate, the psychotic, the irredeemable.

...

He had spent time with younger versions of himself.

To escape the identity pressed upon them in their civilian life, and to redefine themselves through service.

He had been like that, once, keen to abandon his memories of abuse from an alcoholic father, and to distinguish himself in the only way he knew how.

At least until he met with a certain forensic anthropologist from the Jeffersonian Institute, a Doctor Temperance Brennan, had been introduced to his life.

His heart and his mind spent far too long lingering on Temperance, _Bones_, and instead of trying to put her from his mind, he indulged himself with memories of her. What endeared her to him. Her laugh, her smile, her intelligence.

Could he really find a way not to love her, to move on and find someone to spend the next thirty, forty, fifty years with.

His heart told him that a life without her by his side would be intolerable, and that anyone else would be a betrayal to himself. Why should he have to settle for second best?

But he had done the noble thing, and let her chase her dream.

And perhaps shake up her foundations that had begun to shift during their partnership.

The thought of _his_ Bones, hunched over ancient bones in Maluku, in the rainforests, sticky from the humidity, doing what she did best. Trying to find a meaning to humanity from what had been long forgotten.

While he was in Afghanistan, not doing what he did best.

Instead of fighting in the war, he was training soldiers.

He was certain Sweets would have some psychological mumbo-jumbo that would explain why he was not satisfied at staying away from combat.

And Bones would probably have some anthropological explanation for the need of alpa males to assert themselves, particularly in war.

But she had asked him not to be himself, not to be a hero. He hadn't promised her, just made a non-committal reply.

And it was killing him.

...

Much hadn't changed.

She was still Bones.

He was still Booth.

Both had left with a resolution, but had come to no definite conclusion.

It was easy and hard to be together again.

It was right and wrong.

Things were said and not said.

One thing was certain.

Everything had changed.

...

She had arrived first, unsure of what she would say.

"Hello Booth" didn't seem enough, but she had never called him Seeley.

They weren't partners anymore. She was currently not acting as a consultant for the FBI. She had spent a year not being his partner, and while it had been fulfilling for her ambitions regarding her career, her personal ambitions were left incomplete. She had spent a year away from her family, ones that were blood related and her adopted family.

No spontaneous evenings of thai. No exasperation over another one of her father's harebrained schemes. No Cam reminding her that she was a curve or a loop. No Ange "Sweetie"-ing her and expounding the benefits of "glug-glug-woo-hoo" once in a while. No outrageous conspiracy theory from Jack.

Her time in the Maluku Islands had for once reminded her how small she was in the grand scheme of things. How she so disconnected from the humanity she was trying to understand through looking at the ancient remains. How annoying Miss Wick could be.

Miss Wick who had been so driven by her ambition that she had abandoned someone she had claimed to love and at one point was engaged to. Because she had never declared to be in love with anyone, she had never had to make a sacrifice to do her job. But having spent time with Booth, she could see how Miss Wick could be seen as heartless. She hadn't even consulted Sweets on her decision to go on the dig. She had declared her intention of going on this dig and expected him to follow like a puppy.

She hadn't been like that to Booth, had she?

If he had asked, she would have stayed, but he hadn't because he loved her, and knew her better than she knew herself.

From what she gleaned from Booth, love went both ways, and involved compromises.

But did she love Booth?

She struggled with understanding love, and more than that, she was scared of making herself vulnerable. She had told him that she hadn't had an open heart, but she was wrong. She just didn't want to open her heart to love, because love had disappointed her in the past.

The time away had shown her that perhaps she was almost ready to open her heart.

Knowing Booth, knowing Angela, knowing Hodgins had shown her what loving and opening her heart meant.

Now, what to say.

...

Booth had finally been discharged, having spent the last week in Georgia being debriefed and officially retired from active duty.

He had seen Parker, and was now eager to see Bones again.

The time, the year, had merely confirmed that his heart belonged to Bones.

She had told him she didn't have an open heart, but he knew better.

She was just scared of opening her heart.

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	2. The Big Reveal

I don't own Bones.

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**A Year from Today

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He had been afraid of what he would be like when he returned. Last time he returned, he had turned to gambling, where the stakes were lower than when he was doing his job, serving his country, saving lives.

...

She had been afraid of what she would be like when she returned. She was afraid she had regressed to cold anthropologist when she wanted to open her heart. She wasn't just a doctorate, a job.

...

Bones had her coffee in her hand.

It had been over a year since she had gone to the reflecting pool.

It had been a year since she had seen Booth.

And here he was now, coming to her, like she knew he would.

Just like he'd promised.

...

Booth observed Bones.

She had a coffee in her hand.

She looked deep in thought, but when she saw him, she smiled.

And he was certain that whatever happened next would change their relationship forever.

...

A perfunctory greeting, a lingering hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Many words to be said, each reluctant to be the one to begin.

But someone had to take that first step.

Someone had to take that gamble.

...

"Rationally, a year isn't _that_ long. But it felt like forever."

"I missed you too."

"Yeah, me too."

"Let's not do that again."

Pause, then,

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I've definitely learnt some things while I was away, but what I was looking for wasn't there."

"I know what you mean. I went away with an objective, but my mind always led me somewhere else."

"Officially, we're not partners, or associates, or working together."

"I know. We're just two people, at the reflecting pool, waiting for something, to start, to end, to continue."

Silence.

...

Both wanted to say the same thing, but didn't know how to say it.

It was the elephant in the room which they had thought about for a year.

That had been there for seven years.

...

"I don't want you to think this thing we have, this connection, doesn't mean anything to me."

"I know."

"I'm just afraid of change."

"Don't think that I'm not either."

"It's just that if I say what I think, I can't take it back, and it becomes real."

"I know."

A pregnant pause, then:

"Bones, do you know why I started gambling after my first deployment?"

"I have some idea. But I don't know why you specifically started gambling."

"Civilian life didn't seem real after being deployed. What we had seen, what we had done, what we had been told was incongruent to life at home. Nightmares every night, flashbacks triggered by just about anything, being on my guard all the time, being emotionally unavailable. Post traumatic stress disorder, I was told. I stayed the required time at the vet facility, but then they left me on my own... And all the way through that I was gambling, because nothing felt real. Then I joined the FBI, and I kept gambling, because winning meant I was still here in the world, living."

"And how do you feel now that you're back?"

"I'm at a better place now than I was last time. I have a life here, I have Parker, I have... I have a life outside the military for me to return to."

"I'm glad. I'm glad you're back, and have people... a life here to return to."

Another pause.

"The dig was actually extended for another three months."

"Then why are you back? You could have told me in one of your emails."

"I wanted to come back."

Then,

"I wanted to come back because I had made an important promise..."

"To meet me here in a year's time. Thank you Bones."

Then,

"Will you be going back?"

"Well, the progress we've made in the last twelve months have already shed a lot of light on the evolutionary process, but the facilities available to us in Maluku aren't at all comparable to what is available to us at the Jeffersonian, so there's a lot more work that has be done back here."

"So _no_?"

"It depends if there's a reason for me to stay or go."

"But were do you want to be?"

...

Is this a test?

What is the right answer?

What will happen if she answers incorrectly?

...

She obfuscates.

"Well, Angela and Jack, and you are back. I haven't seen Dad or Russ and the girls for over a year. I want to sleep on a real mattress. I want to have a hot shower without worrying about how full the tank is. I want to eat and have the organic, vegetarian option. "

"Well, you can do all that and then go back."

...

The truth.

That's what is required.

Are they brave enough to say what they feel?

One takes a gamble.

...

"I want to stay. I don't want to be the leader. I don't want to be the bureaucrat doing paperwork, being in charge of every little problem. I want to be myself. I want to be with my friends, my equals, people who know my limitations and don't expect more than I can give. People who don't look up to me as being the standard as an anthropologist. People who aren't consumed by their career."

"I remember when I first met you, and you were your career. You think you can't change, but you have, Temperance."

"Do you think I should go?"

"I want you to stay. I'm being totally selfish. I want to keep you to myself. I want lots of things from you. I want you. I want your heart. I want you to know that I'll never abandon you and that I'll love you and hold you for as long as I live."

...

There, he had said it.

They were now at the point of no return.

Absolute recklessness.

All heart, thought in neutral.

It's her turn.

...

"Then I'll stay. Because you want me to stay. Because I spent a year looking at my heart, and all I could find was you. I don't understand love like you do. Love to me is a chemical response, but that doesn't make your understanding any less valid."

"What do you see for us, Temperance?"

"I see unconditional friendship. I see physical desire. I see mutual respect. I see a family. I see companionship in thirty, forty, fifty years time. I want these things with you, Booth."

"That's love."

"Then if that's love, then I love you, Seeley, and I want to love you forever."

A long hug.

"You see, you do have an open heart," Booth says into her ear as she feels tears running down her face.

A kiss.

Everything had changed.

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A/N: Big thank yous to the people who reviewed the first chapter, I'm glad you enjoyed my style of writing.


	3. The Beginning of the Rest of their Lives

Author's Note- Firstly, thank you for all the encouraging reviews I got from the previous chapter. I had initially planned on writing a sequel to this, but couple of dreadful spoilers took away any inspiration I had for that. So, instead, I present you with the beginning of the rest of Seeley and Tempe's life together.

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**A Year from Today**

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He wasn't FBI. She wasn't FBI consultant. They were just a man and woman in love.

...

"I want to get some things straight, Bones, if you're serious about us."

"Don't you think that placing parameters in this relationship would hinder natural progression?"

"Not at all Bones. The sort of things I'm talking about is you know, monogamy, not rushing headlong into anything, respecting each other's view on things. You know, usually people don't have to talk about these things, but I feel that we have to so we be on the same page on somethings"

"I suppose, given that most sexual relationships I've had were purely physical, and that I'm new to anything else, it would make sense that we discuss and clarify these issues."

"Good"

...

That was their first major discussion as a proper couple. Points are made clear, and decisions are made.

...

"Would you be satisfied if we kept us under blankets?"

"Under wraps, not under blankets, Bones."

"You know what I mean. Do you want us to be kept, you know, between us?"

...

There a benefits and costs that need to be considered.

There had been hints of a promotion on his side and the continuing investigations from the Maluku dig on hers.

Could they be the exception to the rule if they were still working together?

Would their work adversely affect their new relationship?

...

"Bones, I have a confession to make."

"I'm not a priest, Booth. What do you have to tell me?"

"Last year, you asked if we could work together again, like nothing changed. And I promised we could."

"You're not quitting the FBI are you? You wouldn't be satisfied with your life if you weren't saving lives and catching criminals."

"No. Hacker talked to me about a promotion before we left. Coordinating organized crime nationally. I told him I'd think about it, but I would probably accept. And I want to."

"You'll still be based in DC?"

"Yes"

...

And although Bones wanted to work with Booth, she wanted him more.

A personal relationship with a working relationship, no matter how hopeful they were, would not be looked on kindly by their bosses. Their professional integrity would be questioned at every trial.

Booth saw the merit of his taking the promotion.

It would allow them to be open about their relationship. Not needing to hide behind the facade of professionalism during the day, as if their love were a dirty secret to be kept hidden.

...

"I think you should take this opportunity, Booth."

"Thank you"

...

They had spent the remainder of their time off together, laughing, talking, making love.

They had visited family together, telling them of their relational development.

And none were surprised.

They then visited their Jeffersonian family.

And there was money exchanged.

Everyone had been happy for them.

There were jokes about marriage and babies.

And both hid the longing in their eyes, from everyone, from each other.

...

She returned to work without him.

He was busy arranging his office new _upstairs_.

They were content.

...

One Saturday afternoon, they were lying in bed.

They had just made love, but there was something in the air.

It was time for change.

...

"Are you happy, Tempe?"

"Yes. If I weren't, I would tell you, Seeley."

"But there's something you're not telling me."

"I know."

...

She wasn't sure if it was time for the next step.

Angela had counseled truthfulness, which had made sense.

But irrationally, she was still afraid of rejection.

She sat up, and he took her lead.

...

"Seeley, remember when I wanted a baby?"

"How could I forget?"

Then,

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes"

"You know what I'll ask in exchange, right?"

"Yes. I've been thinking about it, and I'm ready."

"I love you Temperance Brennan. You're funny and beautiful and I want to spend the rest of my life with you..."

"Yes"

"Silly girl, I haven't asked you anything yet. You don't see why you're beautiful to me, but I want to spend the rest of my life trying to show you. Marry me, Tempe."

"Yes"

...

This was their secret which they kept to themselves for a while.

No one around them could quite understand why there was a spring in his step, or the silly smile when she thought no one was around.

There was speculation.

But there was no ring.

Or morning sickness, or a bump.

Yet.

...

There was a ring, but she didn't wear it on her finger.

She wore it with the St Christopher medal he had given her.

Next to her heart.

...

She had taken the week off, which was peculiar.

She had told Cam, and she was about to tell her best friend.

"I'm getting married next week, Ange"

She was too shocked for words.

"To Seeley."

Then,

"We've been engaged for the past two months."

She recovered.

"Congratulations, Bren. I'm glad you can see your reality now. I'm so happy for you and Booth."

"Thanks Ange."

"Next week? But dresses and shoes..."

...

The ceremony was intimate.

She had been appropriately radiant.

He had been grinning like a fool.

Later there was dancing.

...

Rather than a luxurious week in a sunny location near the water, they had gone camping for their honeymoon.

Time away from the city, from other people.

They talked about their times in the wilderness, when they had gone looking for themselves.

Days were spent hiking, nights were spent looking at the stars and making love.

Each day they watched the sun rise and set, and on the last day, considered abandoning their lives.

...

But they returned to their life, to expectations, to deadlines.

Bones had decided to relinquish her responsibility as a consultant to the FBI. Although she had already reduced her time on the field, her interest in solving murders had waned with the loss of Booth as her work partner.

However, with Booth's new role in the FBI meant travel, and sometimes for days at a time.

Time apart was difficult, but her smile when he came through the door reminded him that his decision to take the promotion was worth it.

...

Three mornings in a row, he had awoken to the sound of her retching, and he hoped that their suspicions were correct.

Later, an appointment with her doctor had confirmed that Temperance was in fact pregnant.

But for now, it was another one of their secrets.

...

Of course, as soon as she returned to work from her doctor's appointment, Angela barged into her office.

"You are pregnant."

"Yes"

"Finally, baby Booth."

A smile.

"Yes."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks. I'm just so happy right now. And about to be sick."

...

The pregnancy was relatively smooth sailing until approximately week 33, and pre-eclampsia was diagnosed after a routine check-up.

Bed rest was prescribed, much to her chagrin, which meant taking maternity leave a month early.

...

"Tempe, I think you should be taking it easy. Let me assemble the crib."

"Booth, I'm pregnant, not an invalid"

"I know, but we've already talked about this..."

"I know. But being on bed rest is so dull, and I can't seem to concentrate when I try to read..."

"I know, but it's for you and the baby's good that you stay in bed."

"I love you and the baby, you know"

"I love you too"

...

The baby was a girl, much to her parent's delight.

Parker grumbled at the prospect of pink, but was happy to be an older brother, always checking up on his new little sister.

...

Finally, they were a family they had always wanted.

Father and mother, son and daughter.

-_**Fin**_

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Please leave a review and tell me whether or not you think I ended the story well.


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